Sheet-metal roofing-plates



H. E. MOOMAW.

SHEET METAL ROOFING PLATES. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31. 1919.

Patented Feb. 3, 1920.

HENRY E. MOOMAW, OF CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE.

- SHEET-METAL ROOFING-PLATES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 3, 1920.

Application filed October 31, 1919. Serial No. 334,757.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY E. MOOMAW, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of-Chattanooga, county of Hamilton, and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Metal Roofing-Plates, of which the following is a full and clear specification.

This invention has relation to that type of sheet-metal roofing covered by my former Patent No. 1,090,330, dated March 17, 1914. After a wide and long experience with this type of sheet-metal roofing, I have found the same defective in the particular that moisture is collected and held in the hook-receiving channel and that by reason thereof the channel walls rust out and thus weaken the plates at points along the channels and thus destroy the effectiveness of the seamlocks. It is the principal object of the present invention to keep this lock'channel dry. so as to thereby greatly prolong the life of the plates, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a perspective view of portions of a pair of roofing plates constructed and connected in accordance with my invent-ion;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view showing the manner of interlocking adjacent plates;

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are detail perspective views showing the application of my invention to three different designs of roofingplates.

Referring to the drawings a nnnexed by reference-characters, a designates the main body of the plate, 6 an upstanding ridge formed along one edge of the plate, a short distance from its extreme edge, leaving said extreme edge flat and parallel with the main body of the plate so as to serve as a nailingfiange c, said ridge 6 being rounded or oval in cross-section. Near the junction of the wall of the ridge 6 with the main part a of the plate, the ridge 1) is provided with a longitudinal fold cl forming a flange which extends toward the opposite edge of the sheet and lies just above the face of the main plate a, this fold-flange d forming a channel e which extends longitudinally of the sheet and is open at its ends. At the opposite edge of the sheet is formed a longitudinal rounded bead f which fits over the bead b on the adjacent sheet, the extreme edge of the sheet being folded downwardly and inwardly to form a hook g which is adapted to engage over the fold-flange cl on the adjacent sheet, as indicated in Fig. 2, the free edge h of the hook being extended into the channel 6.

It will be observed that the sheets are thus interlocked in substantially the same manner as in my. former patent, but in the present case I use oval or rounded beads'b, f instead of angular beads. In practice I have found this rounded head to be much superior to the angular head in that the rounded beads, being more flexible, enable slight clifferences and inaccuracies in the widths of the sheets to be compensated for, so that, notwithstanding such slight differences in widths. the heads may be nicely fitted together. These oval beads also give a wider range of movement in expansion and contraction and are more certain to prevent disruption of the roof-sections in case of undue expansion in extremely hot Weather. In extremelv cold weather, these beads are also especially advantageous in that. they permit a large degree of contraction without disruption of the lock-seams. i

A feature of special importance in this invention, however, lies in the fact that the flange h of the hook terminates not only short of the inner wall or bottom of the channel 6 but also terminates short of the face of the plate a, so that this free edge h of the hook is virtually suspended 1n the channel, out of contact with the walls thereof. This arrangement leaves a clear and unobstructed passageway for the descending Water which during a rain will flow lntoi this channel. There are virtually no pockets or obstructions in the channel to hold the water, so that it is obvious that the entlre interior of the channel will dry out quickly between rains. It is obvious also that accumulations of debris in the channel will be avoided, so that water-soaked foreign matter cannot hold the moisture in the channel, and particularly in View of the fact that, by reason of the openings in the channel, each rain will wash out from the channels accumulations that collect therein between rains, so that after each rain, unless it is a mere sprinkle, each one .of the channels w1ll be thoroughly washed out, so .that when the rain ceases the channels will be in condition to dry out quickly. I have found this little expedient to greatly prolong the life of the roofesheets. The weak point in a lock-seam roofing is the inner or bottom wall 2' of the channel because at this point the moisture is ordinarily held longest and therefore rust takes place at this point more quickly than at any other point; but with the present form of hook I have found that this formerly weak point in the lock-seam is rendered as durableas the other parts of the roofing-plates.

The nature and scope of the invention having been thus indicated and its preferred embodiment having been specifically described, what is claimed as new is:

1. A sheetmetal roofing embodying a series of sheet-metal plates having their edges i aaarea channel but terminating short of the bottom of the channel and also short of the face of the body of the sheet to thus leave the channel open and virtually unobstructed throughout its length.

2. A sheet metal roofing embodying a series of sheet metal plates having their edges overlapped and interlocked in the following manner: the under edge of the overlap being provided with an upstanding longitudinal ridge and a flange extending to- Ward the opposite edge of the sheet and forming a longitudinal open channel 6, while the upper overlap is provided with a corresponding upstanding ridge and with a down- Wardly turned longitudinal hook along its free edge, said free edge extending into said channel but terminating short of the bottom of the channel and also short of the face of the body of the sheet to'thus leave the channel open and virtually unobstructed throughout its length, said ridges being oval in cross-section, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

nanny E. MOOMAW. 

